Chapter 9: A living legend

Cinder ran back home from the Patch Library as the sun set behind her. It had been one and a half months since she had been adopted by Summer and her family. She was now studying for the entrance exam for Signal academy. She would have to pass a written exam and a practical exam to get in. And given that fact she struggled to read and write, she needed all the time she could get.

Today she had been preparing for the written exam and lost track of time. She was supposed to babysit Ruby and Yang as Tai had left Patch to get ready for the school year. Normally, Summer would stay and watch them. She was still recovering from her battle with Rouge and until she was at a hundred percent, she was to stay at home.

But her old school master had called her for a briefing about the attack. When she asked why the headmaster cared, Summer had informed her that they were close.

But when Cinder brought up Salem, Summer had dodged the question. Saying something like she didn't have to worry about it, or that it was slang for something among Vale huntsmen. Cinder wasn't stupid enough to believe her, (Summer was a terrible liar.) but chose not to press the subject. She could find out who Salem was on her own.

When she got home, Cinder went to her room to dump her books there. As she entered, she basked in its now more homelike aesthetic, with clothes in the closet and poster on the wall. Summer, Ruby, and Tai had been incredibly welcoming and friendly to her, Ruby even went as far as trying to sleep in the same bed as Cinder, but the older girl would always march her to her own room every time she tried.

Of course there was one voice of discontent over Cinder's addition to the family, Yang.

She had completely blown up when she found out, and was now refusing to interact with anyone but Ruby. Whenever Cinder was in the house, Yang would lock herself in her room and not come out until she thought nobody was looking. And even then it was only to go to the bathroom or get something from the kitchen.

Cinder didn't mind Yang's behavior though. In fact, she thought it was an improvement! But Tai had asked her to try and get along with Yang, or if nothing else to not aggravate her. She was part of the family now, so she would have to try to get along with everyone, including Yang.

Cinder dumped her books on her bed and turned to leave, but paused when her gaze stopped on a display case in the corner of her room. The remains blades had been gathered and given back to her. She had put the broken pieces in the case for emergencies. Although, the only usable part were the handle that still had some of the blade still attached. She had gotten several magazines of weapons so she could think about what she wanted for a replacement. But even after everything that happened, Cinder found herself reluctantly to move on to a new weapon.

"Sigh. Cinder you idiot." She berated herself. "When did you get so sentimental? Just throw them away with the rest of your past." She opened the case and picked up one of the pieces and stared at herself in the reflection of the broken blade. "I'm not running." She told herself. "I never have to run ever again. You were wrong." She turned and made her way to her trash can.

She was about to drop it in when a rotten hand shot out grabbing her wrist.

"Still running, I see." A familiar, hallowed voice said.

Cinder's heart stopped as she stared up at Rhodes. His figure was rotting away in places. He still had the slash mark from when she killed him. His eyes were empty black voids that still stared her down. Black liquid dripped from the injury on his chest and out his empty eye-sockets.

"No." Cinder breathed. "No! You're dead! Go away! Leave me alone!" Rhodes ignore her cries and took his mace from his back. "Running is all you'll ever do." He said as he raised it high into the air. "You never change." He said, then brought it down with enough force to crush her head.

"Noooo!" She screamed and wrenched herself free from his grip, falling back against her bed. Terrified, she looked back up, but Rhodes was gone. As with the black liquid that he had spoiled and any other sign of his presence.

Panting, Cinder slowly got back to her feet, still trembling and with tears in her eyes. She quickly put the blade back in the case and slammed the lid shut. Her heart hammered against her chest as she tried to steady her breathing. It was just a hallucination brought on by fatigue. Nothing more. She repeated that in her mind trying to calm herself down.

Rhodes was dead and buried. Summer didn't know what had happened and the only ones who could prove her story wasn't the truth were all dead as well. She was safe.

But she knew that wasn't true. Ever since Rouge's attack, she had been having the same hallucination. When she was in the hospital waiting for Summer, when she had sent in her adoption papers, when she had been shopping for her room. He was always there, watching, judging, and he wouldn't leave her alone!

She wished he would. She wanted to move on with her life, but every time she tried he'd appear and torment her for her past choices. She had managed to hide it from the family, but she still hated the fact that she STILL couldn't live peacefully after everything she had already endured. She hated it. She hated it. She hated it. She hated it. She hated it. She hated it. She hated it. She hated it. She hated it. She hated it. She hated it. She hated it. SHE HATED IT!

Cinder caught herself as she became light-headed. Breathe. She needs to breathe. Slowly Cinder began to recompose herself. She did what she always did back at the Glass Unicorn, making a checklist of chores.

"Feed Zwei, make dinner, ensure we have enough painkillers. Feed Zwei, make dinner, ensure we have enough painkillers." Admittedly, with the lack of things expected of Cinder, this was much harder. Taking a deep breath, Cinder decided to add more to her list.

"Feed Zwei, make dinner, ensure we have enough painkillers, clean the bathroom, do the dishes, and don't antagonize Yang. Feed Zwei, make dinner, ensure we have enough painkillers, clean the bathroom, do the dishes, and don't antagonize Yang." Cinder repeated this over and over until she had calmed down.

With her heart rate back to normal, Cinder staggered out of her room and made her way to the kitchen.

On the way, she noticed the house was eerily quiet. Normally Ruby would be playing loudly upstairs, but she supposed even rambunctious Ruby was being more tame with school fast approaching.

Ruby made it no secret she wanted to be a huntress and save people like the heroes in her fairy tales. And even though Cinder wanted to throw up whenever Ruby would talk about it, (which was a lot!) she had to admire her determination. Even though she royally sucked at combat, she never let it get her down. Always willing to try again, no matter how many times she failed.

As Cinder began preparing dinner, she noticed someone had pillaged the bread and rice cakes, as well as some of Summer's emergency bottled water. Had Ruby helped herself to a snack? No, the cookie jar was still untouched so it wasn't her. So who was it?

As she began preheating the oven, she went to the stairs. "Ruby? You up there? Did one of you raid the kitchen? You know we have to replace that before Summer gets back tomorrow night!" She called. Upon getting no response, Cinder went upstairs and made her way to the sister's rooms. To her surprise, Yang's door was wide open and nobody was inside. The closest was open and her backpack was missing.

Cinder immediately got the feeling something was wrong. She rushed to Ruby's room and found it empty as well. Her red cape was missing from her closet as well as her backpack.

"Oh no, no, no, no!" Cinder said, then she raced down stairs and out the door. "Ruby! Yang!" She yelled. "Get your sorry asses over here right now or no dinner! You know I'm not as nice as Summer, so don't push me!" No answer.

Now Cinder began panicking. She had no idea what had happened. There was no sign of forced entry or a struggle, so they had left on their own. Had one of their friends come by and they went over to play? No. Ruby would have left a note. Her handwriting was hard to read, but there still would have been something.

Looking around the area for clues, Cinder just saw the garden and the forest. Nothing out of the ordinary, so she quickly made her way to the back of the house. Cinder went to the tool shed. Maybe they had gotten stuck inside while playing. She hoped that was all it was.

But as she rounded the corner her heart stopped. The area where Ruby would leave her wagon was empty. Someone had taken it, along with Yang's bike.

A cold numbness took hold inside her. Had Yang run away? If she had, did she take Ruby with her? No, more likely Ruby had gone after her to stop the little idiot. She was always playing the hero, no matter what. Even if that puts her in a lot of stupidly easy to avoid situations. She was going to box their ears when she found them. Why did they always have to get themselves into trouble!?

But first she had to find them.

Running to the shed, Cinder began looking for tire tracks to indicate where they went. She found a small trail that led to the forest, but it stopped at the grassy area between the trees. And no matter how hard she searched, she couldn't pick up the trail from there.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, NO!" Cinder screams as she fell to her knees as she realizes she wasn't going to be able to find them. If Summer found out, Cinder would be kicked out for sure! She had promised to keep everything in order when she was away. And now both girls were missing.

"Aaaaaarrrrrhhhhhh!" Cinder screamed in frustration and violently punched the ground. For the first time ever, she had found a home to call her own. And now that little twat of a girl had just forced her out. She was going to kill Yang if she ever saw her again.

And poor little Ruby. On her own with her halfwit of a sister. They would die out there. Neither of them were ready for survival in the wilderness. Cinder's chest hurt at the thought of never seeing Ruby again. She had wanted to form a proper sibling bond with the energetic girl and now that chance was gone forever.

"Stupid little shit!" Cinder screamed. "I'll kill you myself if I ever see you again! I'll kill you!" She began punching the ground, each one released a burst of steam as her semblance acted with her emotions. Soon the ground was just scorched earth. "I'll kill you." She said weakly as her fury gave way to despair.

With nothing to do, Cinder curled into a ball and began crying. She had never felt more helpless before. Not even in the Glass Unicorn. Was this the price of bounds? This horrible feeling of despair? This pain of knowing she'd never see them again? If that was it, she'd almost rather rip her own heart out now and be spared this agony.

"Woof!"

Cinder jumped at the sound from inside the shed. Someone was inside the shed! Someone she knew! And that someone would be able to help track far better than she could.

At this new glimmer of hope, she raced over and tried to open the door only to find it locked. Cinder ran back inside and to her room. She took her blades and raced back to the shed where she smashed the wood around the handle with her hilt.

After a few good swings, she had destroyed the area around the handle, letting it open and closed with the slightest touch.

Immediately, a furry black shape shot out from the shed. Zwei began barking frantically while running around Cinder in a circle. The little puppy was near hysterical.

"Zwei! Calm down! I know! Ruby and Yang are missing! Can you help me find them?" Cinder desperately asked. She didn't even know if the puppy could understand her, but he was her only hope.

Fortunately, Zwei did seem to understand! Or he just wasted his old playmates back, Cinder wasn't sure. But he raced to the area where the tracks lead to the woods and began sniffing around.

After a few agonizing minutes, it's head shot up and he let out a loud bark. "Found them boy?" Cinder asked. "Good dog! Now follow that scent!" Once again, Cinder wasn't sure if Zwei was sentenced or not, but he immediately ran full speed into the woods with purpose and determination in his eyes. Cinder pelted after him, praying to the brothers she could find them in time.

"Yang! I still don't think this is a good idea!" Ruby called to her sister as she made her way through the forest. "Maybe we should head back."

"If you want to turn back, I'm not stopping you!" Yang retorted. "But I'm going on! Uncle Qrow said he had a lead on my mom up here and I'm not leaving until I find it." She pressed on, pulling the wagon loaded with food. She had crashed her bike a while ago and had walked the rest of the way.

"Just a little farther ahead." She called back to Ruby. "There should be an old house here. Somewhere in the basement is a Branwen secret that will lead me to my mom. Then it should be a hop, skip and a jump to find her."

"But mom's mom." Ruby protested. "She said she wasn't sending anyone to the bad place, promised even! Why can't that be good enough for you?"

"Because, you're not the one who's always getting replied!" Yang yelled angrily. "I'm going to find out I'm expendable and nobody else is! So shut up and help me, or go home and wait for your fake sister to feed you!" With that, Yang began to speed up, forcing Ruby to run to try to catch her.

"Yang! Why are you so sure mommy's going to abandon you!" Ruby asked, but only made Yang walk faster. "She didn't abandon you back when you tried to get uncle Qrow's alcohol! Why would she now?"

"Because she let Cinder into the family!" Yang yelled, finally facing Ruby. Said sister was surprised to see tears in her eyes. She had almost never seen Yang cry before.

"Why else would she adopt her if not to replace me!?" Yang grabbed Ruby's shoulders and gave the smaller girl a shake. "She doesn't need three daughters! So I'm going to find my real mom and you're not stopping me! So pick a side, come with me or go back to live with that fake! Because apparently, mom doesn't want me to live with her!" With that, Yang shoved Ruby to the ground and turned around and continued her walk.

The smaller girl watched the back of her sister get father and father away. She wondered why all this had to start. Why couldn't Yang accept Cinder as a family member? They could play more games with all three of them. It would be fun. So why couldn't Yang accept her? Ruby didn't want to choose one or the other. She loved them both.

With a complete feeling of hopelessness, Ruby sat and watched Yang disappear into the woods. Then she broke down crying.

Meanwhile, Yang glanced over her shoulder down the empty road. She had expected Ruby to come racing after her once she had gotten out of her sight. But even as she slowed her pace, Ruby never came around the corner.

Yang bit her lip as she felt more tears burning in her eyes. So Ruby had abandoned her too. She clenched her fist angrily. "Fine." She spat. "I don't need her anyway! I'll make better siblings once I find m-mom!" Yang's vision began to blur and her voice cracked. She angrily wiped her eyes. She didn't want to make a new sibling, she wanted Ruby!

But Ruby had chosen Cinder over her. Along with her mom and dad. They seemed just fine with being without Yang. Why was she the replaceable one!? It wasn't far! Not even her own birth mother wanted her! And Cinder!? She was some nobody from Atlas! Why was everyone so in love with that selfish, stuck up brat!? She didn't even come from the same continent as the rest of the family! Yang was their flesh and blood! So why was she always the one nobody cared about!?

Yang gritted her teeth and swallowed her emotions. Gripping her wagon tightly, she turned and ran down the path. Away from her confusing emotions and her feelings of betrayal. She ran and ran, and when she found her legs burning and it hurt to move, she activated her semblance to keep going.

She ignored her burning lung and hammering heart. She just ran wanting to get away from her pain, away from those who left her for someone else. Away from being the little girl who didn't have a family.

After an hour, Yang finally reached the location Qrow had mentioned. An old abandoned farmhouse in the middle of a clearing. Looking at it, Yang wondered if she'd really find clues that would help her find her mom.

But then something caught her eye. Scratched into the wood was the mark Qrow would sometime doodle on a picture when drunk. It must be the Branwen tribe mark! With renewed hope, Yang took her baseball-bat from the wagon and stepped inside.

As she explored, she couldn't find much out of the ordinary. She remembered it was supposed to be in the basement, but the cellar doors were sealed with a chain. And no matter how hard she tried, Yang couldn't break it.

After several minutes without any progress, Yang gave up and began looking for another way in. "Maybe under a rug somewhere." Yang said to herself. "Basement doors are always hidden under rugs in movies."

But as she searched the house, not only did she have trouble finding a rug, she accidentally found a rat the size of her head!

"Eek!" Yang screamed as she took several steps back, only to trip over a fallen bookcase, breaking part of it and getting herself slightly stuck in it. Meanwhile the rat scurried under a large ornament end table.

"Yeah, you better run." Yang muttered under her breath as she pulled herself out. Fortunately, her aura had protected her from getting any splinter, but her butt was still covered in dust.

Angrily, she kicked the bookcase, smashing the side causing it to move slightly. However, she found her foot stuck in it. "Oh come on!"she groaned in exasperation. Sitting down, she put her free foot against the bookcase and pushed against it while pulling her trapped leg.

After several minutes, Yang gave a final push and freed her leg and pushed the bookcase another few inches. "Finally." Yang groaned. "Now I can get-"

But she stopped mid sentence as her eyes widened. Bellowed the bookcase she saw a trap door. It had been hidden by the bookcase before, but after she had moved it, the door had been exposed.

Without wasting a second, Yang set aside her bat and rushed forward. With a bit of effort, she managed to push the bookcase completely off the trap door. Her heart was hammering as she stared at it. This was it. Down below she'd find a clue to where her mother was. With all her strength, she hauled the door open, releasing a small cloud of dust. It was heavier than she expected and the wood was thick and noticeably fancier. As it finally swung open, she saw dusty stairs leading down into darkness.

"Guess this is it." Yang said to herself. With one final deep breath, she descended into the dark basement.

It was extremely dark inside, the only source of light was from the moon slipping through the cracks. Yang couldn't see anything and when she tried the lights, she found that the house had no electricity. Undeterred, Yang used an old flashlight she had brought to illuminate the dark room.

She shone the beam of light across the room. She saw old boxes and dusty furniture left scattered all over the place, a few support pillars scattered across the room. The floor was covered in sand and she could see footprints in it leading to an area with a skeleton lay next to an old huntsman bow. Blood was smeared on the wall behind it, but years had dried it thoroughly. This room didn't seem to be a battle ground, so whoever it was must have crawled in here to die.

Yang swallowed her fear and took a step into the room. Her foot falls were deafening in the silence. She scanned the room, trying to be thorough despite her trembling hands. "Relax Yang." She said to herself. "There's nobody here. Just find what you're looking for and get out. Then you'll be on track to finding your mom."

As she shone the light around, it illuminated a large map hanging on the wall. Several x's had been drawn on it and she saw a doodle of a bird in the corner.

"That must be it!" Yang said happily. She rushed over to it and carefully pulled it from the wall. "Mom, here I come!" She was ecstatic about her find and was about to leave when she heard a floorboard squeak.

Yang jumped, dropping her map, but then realized it was probably just Ruby. She thought about not saying anything and waiting for her to leave, but guilt was already eating it's way through her stomach. She was about to leave forever, if nothing else she should apologize.

"Ruby!" She called as she reached down to pick up her map. "I'm in the basement! Can you come down here quickly?" Yang waited for a response, but when she only heard another board squeak, one closer to the trapdoor, she got annoyed.

"Ruby! I can hear you! You're not sneaky! Just come down already! I want to apologize!" The map was big, and Yang was struggling to gather it up, but once she got it in her wagon, it would be much easier to move.

Then she heard footsteps at the top of the stairs. "Finally!" Yang said as she finished gathering up the map. "Took your time, didn't you? And here I wanted to see my baby sis-"

Yang stopped mid sentence as she looked up at her guest. It wasn't Ruby. It was a massive Beowolf with four distinct scars running down its left eye. It looked old and had several arrows sticking out shoulder and back.

It stared at her, eyes gleaming with hungry desire. Yang didn't know what to do. It was blocking the only way out and she had nothing to defend herself with. Her legs trembled and her hands shook. Terrified, she backed up until her back touched the wall.

Surprised, she glanced behind her, providing to be a mistake.

The Beowolf leapt towards her, clearing the room in a single bond. It brought it's hand down, knocking Yang to the floor, trapping her under its massive weight.

"Aaahhh!" The little girl screamed as she struggled to escape, but the beast had her firmly pinned to the ground. Tears formed in Yang's eyes as she saw it open it's gaping mouth revealing it's horrible teeth. It was going to take her head off in a single bite!

Yang saw her life flash before her eyes. The good and the bad, her heart began to race as she saw all the horrible things she had said and done recently.

Why had she been so selfish? Her own family must have been exhausted by her constant whining and temper tantrums. She wished she could apologize to Summer, Tai and Ruby. Wished she had given them a proper goodbye. They must think her an ungrateful brat who always wants to be the center of attention.

"I don't want to die!" Yang sobbed. "Let me go! Someone help me!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, but she knew it was pointless. She had pushed everybody away and now no one would save her.

Yang closed her eyes as the Grimm's hot breath blasted her face. "This is it!" Yang thought. Why had she been so selfish? Was this punishment for her recent behavior? Summer had always accepted her as a daughter, so why hadn't she done the same? They were supposed to be family, but Yang had thrown it all away. For what? To find a woman who had left her when she was still a baby? Was blood ties really that important to her that she would reject the woman who had raised her?

As her head entered the Beowolf's mouth, Yang pictured her family, her mother, her father, and her sister. She wanted them to be the last thing she thought of before she died.

"Aaaaahhhh!"

Yang's eyes shot open as a battle cry echoed through the room. The Beowolf looked up, only for Cinder's glowing red fist to slam into its face. The second it connected, it exploded with steam burning the creature.

Howling in pain, the Beowolf staggered backwards, dropping Yang as Cinder landed next to her. At the same time a familiar voice called from the stairs. "Yang! Are you alright!?" Looking at the sound, Yang saw Ruby at the basement entrance. "Y-Yeah!" She stammered. "I'm fi-"

"Not now!" Cinder yelled. "Ruby! Take your stupid, ape of a sister and get out of here! This is about to get really, really ugly!" Looking back around, Yang saw the Grimm had recovered and glaring at them.

Wasting no time, Yang ran to the exit, clutching the map to her chest. Behind her, she heard Cinder let out a chuckle. "Four scares on the left eye huh." She taunted. "So your the famous Werewolf of Patch. Guess you're just an alpha with some real power, not some handsome huntsman waiting to be rescued." Cinder drew her broken blades, staring down the creature. "To bad your legend ends here. I'm going to rip you apart, you overrated piece of trash!"

With a roar, the Werewolf leapt towards Cinder, mouth hanging open as it's eyes burned with fury. The young girl planted her feet as she prepared for the fight of her life.